WSD Sports Page: Stanley Cup Final 2014 simulated on NHL '94

Dan Marino says "Whoops!" on the whole NFL lawsuit thing, 50 Cent gives us his reason on why that first pitch sucked, and the Stanley Cup Final simulated on NHL '94 on today's sports page.

The Lede: Why TNT's NBA coverage laps ESPN
SFG Recap: Reds 8, Giants 3

Other Headlines

NFL: Dan Marino says his NFL lawsuit was an "accident"

Because he knew his future in working with the NFL would be over after all the craze happened yesterday. But c'mon, man. Accidentally filing a lawsuit?

NHL: Stanley Cup Final simulated on NHL '94

Using the classic hockey game to find out who wins the Stanley Cup Final is probably just as accurate as what anybody says on TV before tonight. My prediction? Use this prediction and just swap the teams. Not that I'm playing favorites.


NBA: Dirk Nowitzki won't be leaving the Mavericks

Negotiations still have to take place, but just like Kobe and the Lakers, I'd be hard to see Dirk play anywhere else.

MLB: 50 Cent said his bad pitch was due to whacking it to much

Actual quote from 50 Cent on Reddit: "I have a skeletal muscle injury on my left shoulder from excessive masturbation so take it easy lol"

NBA: Knicks won't hire a coach until mid-June

This is something I don't understand. There's a ton of pressure for anybody that takes the job in New York or Los Angeles. With NBA landscape completely changing this summer with all the free agents and potentially huge moving around, wouldn't it make sense if you're a potential NBA coach to wait and see how the draft and free agency periods elapse before getting one of those jobs?

Yes, getting an NBA head coaching gig anywhere is still a great job to get, even if people like to poke fun at the Knicks and Lakers right now currently having vacated positions. But they will be filled shortly after all the movement happens this summer if not before that.

NL West recap: Everybody stayed where they were at in the top three with the Giants, Dodgers, and Rockies all losing their games. SF holds a 7-game lead in the division at 37-21.

Today's Slate
Central times listed

TENNIS
French Open (Qtrs) - Currently on ESPN2 / 12:00 TNNS

STANLEY CUP FINAL
Rangers at Kings (Game 1) - 7:00 NBCS

MLB
Pirates at Padres - 5:40 RSPT/FSSD
-Giants at Reds - 6:10 CSBA/FSOH
D'backs at Rockies - 7:40 FSAZ/RSRM
White Sox at Dodgers - 9:10 WGN/SNLA

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-21-14): Los Angeles Kings can't figure out incredible surge by San Jose Sharks

The Lede




NHL Playoffs 2014: LA Kings get blown away in San Jose, 13 goals scored against in first two games

Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings' impressive playoff run two years ago seems much, much further away after an extremely disappointing start in their first playoff series against the San Jose Sharks over the weekend, getting smacked around giving up six goals on Thursday night and seven goals on Sunday night.

The wheels fell apart in the final minute of the first period in Game 1, when the Sharks went up 3-0 before intermission. They tacked on two more in the second period but it could have been a lot worse of Quick didn't make some great moves in front of the net. Period 3 was better after San Jose stopped choking down LA, and gave some spark to the team and fans for the next game.

It started out well. LA put up the first two goals in the first period of Game 2, and order looked to be restored. Then once both teams hit the ice for Period 2, the Sharks got hot again with seven different players scoring a goal in a 7-0 run that buried the Kings into submission.

After being outscored 13-5 in the first two games, it's hard to figure out exactly how the Kings can slow down the Sharks as the series shifts to Staples. No, Quick hasn't been his usual self giving up goals he wouldn't have two years ago, but his team isn't doing any favors. In four of the first six periods of the series, San Jose is destroying LA in possession and shots at the goal. It's not Quick's fault when a Sharks player swipes the puck away before the Kings can clear it and nails a 1-on-1 shot against Quick.

The series resumes Tuesday night. The Kings have plenty of work ahead of them now needing to win four of the next five. Hope seems lost, but hockey is one crazy ass sport that can't be predicted.


Top Five Headlines

1. NBA: Rick Adelman retires after 23 seasons as a head coach. Dude won 1,042 NBA games. Fantastic coach will be missed, and it's a bummer that the Minnesota Timberwolves couldn't play better under him this season.
2. BPL: Man United manager David Moyes expected to be sacked. Man U lost to Everton 2-0 on Sunday, and they may not even make Europa League qualifying currently sitting at 7th in the BPL behind Tottenham by six points.
3. NBA: New York Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is officially fired. His fate was going to be determined early this week according to reports late last week, and it only took a couple hours for him to find out on Monday morning.
4. NHL: Jesus resurrected at the Detroit-Boston game on Easter Sunday. He was seen being escorted out after sneaking into the bottom half of the arena, but he magically made it back in the third period to become the fan of the game. That's Jesus for you.
5. NBA: Gregg Popovich gives a message to ailing Craig Sager on the air. CS Jr. was on sideline duties filling in his father, and Popovich gave a heart-felt quick comment to Sager to wish him well and wanting him back on the sidelines. He would even be nice to him. That's love.

Yesterday's Favorites




NCAA Baseball: TCU 3, Texas 1 (F/Saturday)

The Horned Frogs completed the amazing sweep of the Longhorns. Texas was able to get on the board with hits, but only scored their lone run in the first inning. Nathan Thornhill was sharp again giving up five hits and two runs with six strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work, but the Texas offense just couldn't get anything going against TCU all weekend. With the sweep, TCU is now just one game back of Oklahoma State for the top spot in the Big 12 and Texas now sits at 3rd.

MLB: Giants 4, Padres 3

San Francisco had their 10th straight game decided by one run, and finally they were able to break a 3-game schnide and avoided a sweep at San Diego. Buster Posey hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run jack, and SF put up two runs in each of the first two innings despite having just three hits. While Tim Lincecum had a hiccup in the third inning but gathered in his first win of the season after giving up seven hits, three runs, and recording seven strikeouts in six innings. The bullpen held it down the rest of the way -- four players didn't give up a hit and allowed just two walks.


Stanley Cup Playoffs Report

• Flyers 4, Rangers 2 (Tied 1-1)
• Bruins 4, Red Wings 1 (Tied 1-1)
• Canadiens 3, Lightning 2 (MON 3-0)
• Sharks 7, Kings 2 (SJ 2-0)

We've already touched on the Kings' debacle in SJ. That was the only Western Conference game in action yesterday while three Eastern Conference tilts happened earlier.

After sweeping the Lightning in Tampa Bay, Montreal continues to dominate and take a commanding 3-0 series lead with Game 4 at their home for a chance to sweep the series. Rene Bourque scored just 11 seconds into the game for the Canadiens to get on the board early and they didn't look back. Kudos to the Lightning for keeping it close the rest of the way, but it's a hard sell to win four straight games to move on.

Elsewhere, the Flyers were able to rebound after a crushing loss to the Rangers and tie up the series while the Bruins looked more like themselves in a dominating 4-1 win over Detroit. 

NBA Playoffs Rundown

• Spurs 90, Mavericks 85 (SA 1-0)
• Heat 99, Bobcats 88 (MIA 1-0)
• Wizards 102, Bulls 93 (WSH 1-0)
• Blazers 122, Rockets 120 (F/OT) (POR 1-0)

Road teams won five of the first eight games in the NBA playoffs, creating a lot of questions for Indiana, Chicago, LA Clippers, and Houston. The Pacers can never seem to rebound offensively and Roy Hibbert continues to struggle. Washington took over in the fourth quarter to get past the Bulls, outscoring the team 30-18 behind Nene Hilario's team-leading 24 points. And LaMarcus Aldridge's 46 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out helps the Blazers get past the Rockets in a high-flying game with zero defense to be found anywhere.


Today's Slate

BPL
West Brom at Man City - 2:00 NBCS

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Penguins at Blue Jackets (Tied 1-1) - 6:00 NBCS
Avalanche at Wild (COL 2-0) - 6:00 NHLN
Blues at Blackhawks (STL 2-0) - 7:30 CNBC
Ducks at Stars (ANA 2-0) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1
Grizzlies at Thunder (OK 1-0) - 7:00 TNT
Warriors at Clippers (GS 1-0) - 9:30 TNT

MLB - NL West
D'backs at Cubs - 7:05 FSAZ/CSCH+
Padres at Brewers - 7:10 FSSD/FSWI
Giants at Rockies - 7:40 CSBA/RSRM
Phillies at Dodgers - 9:10 CSPH/SNLA

LAX

CBB - Big 12
Texas Tech at New Mexico - 3:00
CS Bakersfield at Kansas St - 6:30 FCS

WSD Daily Sports Page (4-19-14): How Nick Saban got the Denver Broncos in trouble, and exposed a dumb NFL rule

Is Nick Saban in hot water after having a Denver Broncos coach and quarterback meet in the offseason? Did Johns Hopkins finally break a losing skid at Annapolis? Is Mike Woodson getting canned from his job with the New York Knicks? Has James Harden ever played defense this season.

All that and more in today's sports page at The World of Santa Destroy.

The Lede




Dumb NFL rule exposed as Nick Saban questioned about meeting with Peyton Manning, Adam Gase

Alabama's head football coach, Nick Saban, may have gotten both Peyton Manning and Adam Gase in trouble, breaking an NFL rule that ultimately makes it look like the league has as many ridiculous rules at the NCAA.

Saban said during a press conference on Thursday that he talked to both the Denver Broncos quarterback and offensive coordinator, and reporters that knew of a certain NFL rule ran wild with it.

What was the rule? The NFl's collective-bargaining agreement doesn't allow for players or coaches to meet with each other before off-season workouts begin. Which is probably the worst rule the NFL has in the CBA.

Saban followed up with reports in his usual Saban way, groaning about how reporters just assumed that he sat down with both of them at the same time (via ESPN).

On the eve of Alabama's final spring scrimmage, he told the newspaper that he was "shocked that anybody would think someone did anything wrong" and that this is "what happens when people assume."
"I was asked about their visit at my coach's clinic press conference but I never said we sat down together. Because we didn't."

There's a reason why Saban reacted in an annoyed way, and I can't blame him. This rule that the NFL has is incredibly stupid, even though it does make sense on why it's there.

NFL coaches are insane crazy, and they would love to be with their players 24/7 and drill them with information to make them better. They'd love to hold more practices and create a year-long relationship with them.

Players certainly need the rest from that. But here's the thing: It's a job. This rule gives the players mandatory vacation away from their job. And it forces two or more people not having a chance to hang out who have developed relationships at a workplace.

You can't just keep people from meeting up with each other. If Manning and John Fox want to meet at Hooters and scarf down some wings and a few cold ones while watching Peyton's alma-mater's men's basketball team cause a stir in the NCAA tournament, that should happen. But no. Under the CBA, that could be deemed inappropriate and the whole team would be under investigation.

It's an inhumane rule that's really stupid, creating stupid witch hunts like the one sparked by Saban. Like he needs even more on his plate while he's trying to please a fanbase that has fans wanting him gone after last season's Iron Bowl loss.


Top Five

1. Soccer: Tottenham stays in Europa League race with 3-1 win over Fulham. 3 different players not named Emmanuel Adebayor scored for the Spurs. Harry Kane scored the go-ahead minutes into the second half that made it 2-1, and Youries Kaboul made the game-ender. Steve Sidwell made the lone goal for Fulham, and missed a penalty kick in the 77th minute.
2. NHL: Detroit takes 1-0 series lead after lone goal 57 minutes into the game. It was a defensive slugfest at Boston, but the Red Wings take a big one on the road after Pavel Datsyuk's goal with 3:01 left in the contest.
3. NBA: New York Knicks' Mike Woodson could be gone early next week. He'll know of his fate early next week, and he's expected to be canned. If the Knicks want Mike D'Antoni back, he should be on the market by then too.
4. MLB: Former New York Mets pitcher Aaron Harang puts a no-hit bid toward Mets. Harang parted ways with Seattle with a 5.76 ERA, heading to the Mets to finish up his season. Afterwards, he was picked up by the Atlanta Braves. He held the Mets to zero hits, but the bullpen broke up the team no-hit bid. This Mets team came off of a dominating sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only other team that could pull off a feat like that is the Chicago Cubs.
5. NBA: Here's James Harden not playing defense all season long. The Houston Rockets are about as defensively inept as the Los Angeles Lakers, which is why they're not getting backed by the talking heads NBA experts and public opinion. This 11-minute video of Harden never making a stop is pretty jaw-dropping.

Other Scores from Yesterday

NCAA Men's Lacrosse: Johns Hopkins 6, Nay 5

The Blue Jays finally broke a 2-game skid at Annapolis with a defensive victory against the Midshipmen. Nothing seems to go Navy's way in close battles. They had three easy opportunities for goals in the third quarter, but all three attempts bounced off the pipes. JHU also turned the ball over twice late in the game to give Navy additional opportunites to tie the game, but the Midshipmen responded with futile attempts on offensive, fumbling the ball away.

Brandon Benn had four of JHU's six goals. Navy has won just one one-goal games out of their last seven dating back to last season.

NCAA Baseball: TCU 2, Texas 0

The Longhorns still haven't scored in an early 3-game series against the Horned Frogs before the Easter holiday. TCU's Preston Morrison outdueled Dillon Peters by giving up just four hits and recorded seven strikeouts in seven innings. Peters had the same amount of SOs but double the hits in 6.2 innings of work. Texas also had just four hits on Thursday, and they'll hope to change that in the series finale.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Recap

• Canadiens 4, Lightning 1 (MON 2-0)
• Red Wings 1, Burins 0 (DET 1-0)
• Ducks 3, Stars 2 (ANA 2-0)

Montreal takes firm control of the series, adding insult to injury by scoring the first four goals in the game after defeating the team in overtime on Wednesday night. Both games were in Tampa Bay, putting extreme pressure on the Lightning. Home ice didn't help end up helping them after securing it with four straight wins to end the regular season, finishing one point higher than the Canadiens.

Elsewhere, Anaheim takes both games at home too. They cruised to a 3-0 lead after the first period and held on after Dallas scored the last three goals of the game. Ryan Getzlaf, who scored the second goal of the game, took a nasty hit as the puck nailed him in the face. He also finished with an assist on the team's third goal with just seconds left in the first period.

NL West Recap

• Rockies 12, Phillies 1
• Padres 2, Giants 1
• Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 2 (F/12)

Colorado broke out the bats against Philly, dominating the game early with eight runs in the first four innings, crushing Jonathan Pettibone with nine hits and all the runs were earned. Troy Tulowitzki hit a 3-run jack in the second inning with two outs.

San Francisco continues their inept offense with just one run, a home run by Brandon Belt in the ninth inning. Starting pitcher Matt Cain now falls to 0-3 on the season, getting absolutely no run support by his team and getting tagged with a loss despite giving up just four hits, one run, and recording eight strikeouts in seven innings. But they remain tied with LA after the Dodgers lost in extras to the worst team in baseball.

Today's Slate

BARCLAY'S PREMIER LEAGUE

Sunderland at Chelsea - 11:30a NBC

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

B'hawks at Blues (STL 1-0) - 2:00 NBC

B Jackets at Penguins (PIT 1-0) - 6:00  NBCS

Wild at Avalanche (COL 1-0) - 8:30 NBCS

NBA PLAYOFFS - ROUND 1

Nets at Raptors - 11:30a ESPN

Warriors at Clippers - 2:30 ABC

Hawks at Pacers - 6:00 ESPN

Grizzlies at Thunder - 8:30 ESPN

MLB - NL WEST

Phillies at Rockies - 7:10 RSRM

D'backs at Dodgers - 7:10 FS1

-Giants at Padres - 7:40 CSBA/FSSD

NCAA LAX

Maryland at Notre Dame - 11:00a ESPNU

Stony Brook at Binghamton - 12:00 AETV (ONL)

Sacred Heart at St. Joseph's - 12:00 NEC (ONL)

Bryant at Robert Morris - 12:00 NEC (ONL)

Princeton at Harvard - 12:00 ESPN3 (ONL)

Rutgers at Duke - 12:00 ESPN3 (ONL)

Villanova at St. John's 12:00 ESPN3 (ONL)

Albany at UMBC - 2:30 AETV (ONL)

CBB - BIG 12

W Virginia at Oklahoma - 12:00 FCS

PV A&M at Texas Tech - 2:00 ESPN3

Kansas at Okie St - 3:00

-TCU at Texas - 4:00

Baylor at Kansas St - 7:00 ESPNU